The United States has publicly backed Japan in its escalating dispute with China, for the first time criticizing Beijing for aiming fire-control radars at Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise near Okinawa last week, a provocative act Tokyo condemned as “dangerous and extremely regrettable.”
US backs Japan in dispute with China over radar incident https://t.co/7zrg3ZLZEH https://t.co/7zrg3ZLZEH
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 10, 2025
A US State Department spokesperson affirmed that China’s actions are “not conducive to regional peace and stability,” reiterating America’s “unwavering commitment” to the US-Japan Alliance. This diplomatic tension, which Japanese officials welcomed as a sign of unity, follows remarks last month by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially triggering a military response.
Beijing, which is also dealing with the recent deployment of a joint Russian-Chinese air patrol near Japan, has sharply rebutted the claims, asserting that its activities were legal and accusing the Japanese aircraft of “repeatedly approaching and disrupting” its carrier-based training.
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The radar lock incident, considered the most serious run-in between the East Asian militaries in years due to its nature as a signal of potential attack, has highlighted the intense strategic sensitivity of the Taiwan Strait and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, underscoring the high risk of unintended escalation in the region.
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